Norwegian Cruise Line Bans Smoking on Balconies

[titangas]

So your atomizer never needs to be cleaned? If it does, what does it need to be cleaned of?:D

 

Actually - they are disposable, so no they don't need to be cleaned.

Edited July 26, 2014 by titangas

[Out to sea!]

Sorry, I just don't agree with your point of view and apparently, neither do the cruise lines.

 

So your point of view is that people don't have to be responsible for their own actions and it's everyone else's responsibility to keep supposed harm away from them? Okay. :rolleyes:

[Charles4515]

As an FYI, a cabin's PRIVATE balcony was not a public space. Think of it like this, if you owned a condo with a balcony would you have the authority to tell you neighbor on his balcony he/she could not smoke? And of course, the answer is no, you could not. It was the same on a ship (except the ship has 20 knot winds blowing across it most of the time unlike a condo would have). And unless you are the parent of one of these posters, you have no right whatsoever to tell someone to get a grip and make healthy choices. :rolleyes:

 

 

Wrong. A condo association can make rules about what can be done on a balcony and they do. I know as I live in a high rise condo with balconies. It can even make rules about what can be done inside the condo unit.

[negc]

I am a non smoker and I agree with you.

 

I usually get balcony cabins. I don't remember smelling smoke outside and if there was it must have gone away pretty quickly. But thats just my experience.

 

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Forums mobile app

 

Unfortunately your experience isn't the same as many others who have found that smokers on adjacent balconies have made it difficult or impossible for them to enjoy the use of their own without being assaulted by second-hand smoke. Regardless, a majority of the major cruise lines have decided to prohibit smoking on balconies and other major areas of their ships.

[Ewoodspark]

or impossible for them to enjoy the use of their own without being assaulted by second-hand smoke

.

 

"Assaulted"?? Get real !

[Out to sea!]

Wrong. A condo association can make rules about what can be done on a balcony and they do. I know as I live in a high rise condo with balconies. It can even make rules about what can be done inside the condo unit.

 

Yes, a condo association (just like NCL) can make rules against it or ignore it completely. Your next door neighbor cannot make rules against it nor keep you from enjoying your balcony and yet that is what many here have stated.

[hftmrock]

You're right, you have no choice about bad weather or traffic jams. You do have a choice about cabin selection so again I reiterate, when will people take responsibility for their own actions for putting themselves into (as they see it) "harm's way"?

 

 

I think that just happened. People wanted balconies and didn't want to put their family in harms way so they made enough noise to have the cruiseline listen to them and the cruiseline made the change. I think that was pretty responsible for all the people wanting balconies but not wanting to put their families in harms way

[LAKECLIFF]

You're right, you have no choice about bad weather or traffic jams. You do have a choice about cabin selection so again I reiterate, when will people take responsibility for their own actions for putting themselves into (as they see it) "harm's way"?

I have friends who always book forward balcony cabins due to asthma for exactly that reason...Taking responsibility for their actions. They don't have to worry about smoke drifting back to them.

[hftmrock]

Yes, a condo association (just like NCL) can make rules against it or ignore it completely. Your next door neighbor cannot make rules against it nor keep you from enjoying your balcony and yet that is what many here have stated.

 

 

your neighbor can get the rules changed if he makes enough noise and has a majority of others agreeing.

[Out to sea!]

I think that just happened. People wanted balconies and didn't want to put their family in harms way so they made enough noise to have the cruiseline listen to them and the cruiseline made the change. I think that was pretty responsible for all the people wanting balconies but not wanting to put their families in harms way

 

Yes, I agree with your hypothesis but what I am referring to are the people who complain about how so many of their cruises were ruined by smokers on the balcony. I could see the first cruise because someone didn't take the time to find out the rules but there should have not been a second balcony cruise if your health was supposedly at risk by balcony smoking.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Out to sea!

[Out to sea!]

your neighbor can get the rules changed if he makes enough noise and has a majority of others agreeing.

 

Really? Are y'all just not comprehending this? Your neighbor has no authority (on a cruise ship or in a condo) take make decisions on their own. Yes, the cruise line or association can make rules, not your neighbor. And your neighbor cannot retaliate against you for doing something on your balcony that he/she does not like but does not violate company/association rules.

[mein18]

I don't know for sure about NCL but on Carnival, e-cigs have always been classified the same a cigarettes with the same restrictions. Are you saying that e-cigs had different rules than cigarettes prior to the new restrictions or is it that you could just indulge an e-cig in private without having to be around smokers?

 

My point was that it is more difficult to quit when exposed to the situation that you are trying to quit. Not much different than putting a huge chocolate fudge sundae in front of a dieter and forcing them to taste it. One trying to quit smoking during that delicate period of time and inhaling the 2nd hand smoke creates that craving for many if not most.

 

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[Out to sea!]

I have friends who always book forward balcony cabins due to asthma for exactly that reason...Taking responsibility for their actions. They don't have to worry about smoke drifting back to them.

 

And I doubt they ever complained the were being put into harm's way since they took responsibility for themselves.

[hftmrock]

Really? Are y'all just not comprehending this? Your neighbor has no authority (on a cruise ship or in a condo) take make decisions on their own. Yes, the cruise line or association can make rules, not your neighbor. And your neighbor cannot retaliate against you for doing something on your balcony that he/she does not like but does not violate company/association rules.

 

I agree they can not retaliate nor should they.

 

I dont necessarily agree that they have no authority. They dont have authority to change the rules but they DO have authority to get the rule changed which they can and in this case did get done.

[Out to sea!]

I agree they can not retaliate nor should they.

 

I dont necessarily agree that they have no authority. They dont have authority to change the rules but they DO have authority to get the rule changed which they can and in this case did get done.

 

To be fair, they have the authority to request the rules be changed. There is no guarantee that the rules will actually change though.

[che5904]

My point was that it is more difficult to quit when exposed to the situation that you are trying to quit. Not much different than putting a huge chocolate fudge sundae in front of a dieter and forcing them to taste it. One trying to quit smoking during that delicate period of time and inhaling the 2nd hand smoke creates that craving for many if not most.

 

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Even setting your reasoning aside for a moment there is another reason that this rule makes it difficult on the e-cig user. When you go to the smoking area for a cigarette you will usually smoke that cigarette until it is completed. With an e-cig (which does nothing when not being puffed) you will usually (I can't speak for everyone) pick it up only when the urge comes that you take "A" puff. So you would walk from one end of the ship to the other for one puff? They may have the look of a cigarette but they are used completely differently.

[hftmrock]

To be fair, they have the authority to request the rules be changed. There is no guarantee that the rules will actually change though.

 

true , but if enough people are behind it... typically it gets changed

 

thats what happened here. people who wanted balconies took responsibility for their families and get the rule changed.

[Aquahound]

So your point of view is that people don't have to be responsible for their own actions and it's everyone else's responsibility to keep supposed harm away from them? Okay. :rolleyes:

 

It really doesn't matter what I think. All I know is pretty soon, I'll be able to enjoy my balcony in peace. I can't wait to let out that big ahhhhhhhhhh.

 

But regardless of your views that you feel the need to express with condescension, I'll still invite you into the mess if you're ever in Key West. One rule though....no smoking. ;)

[Out to sea!]

true , but if enough people are behind it... typically it gets changed

 

thats what happened here. people who wanted balconies took responsibility for their families and get the rule changed.

 

Yes, I agree. But that was not close to the point of my post. My point was why do your hear stories of people who continuously book balconies and then complain about smokers on the balconies, especially when they think they and/or their family is/are being put into harm's way? Unlike a condo, you can book any cabin you want for the 7 nights (or whatever cruise length you have) so there is no need to book a cabin where you think you may be put into harm's way?

 

Who buys a condo with the expectation of selling it a week later (remember renters have NO say in condo rules.....only the expectation to follow them)?

[hftmrock]

Yes, I agree. But that was not close to the point of my post. My point was why do your hear stories of people who continuously book balconies and then complain about smokers on the balconies, especially when they think they and/or their family is/are being put into harm's way? Unlike a condo, you can book any cabin you want for the 7 nights (or whatever cruise length you have) so there is no need to book a cabin where you think you may be put into harm's way?

 

Who buys a condo with the expectation of selling it a week later (remember renters have NO say in condo rules.....only the expectation to follow them)?

 

simple. they take the chance. they know that the majority does not smoke on a ship and hope they get lucky to enjoy their balcony. They dont put their family at risk because if they are unlucky enough to have a smoker next to them and they smell the smoke, they dont use the balcony. Its a chance they take. sometimes they win and sometimes they lose but they enjoy a balcony as much as the smokers do and want to enjoy it as much.

 

They take a chance. If it fails, they complain in the form of writing the to president of the cruiseline. they make a campaign and hopefully people listen. In this case they did.

 

so in short. they take a chance. They hope they dont have a smoker near them and they dont use the balcony to protect their family if there is a smoker near them

[Skallagrim]

It really doesn't matter what I think. All I know is pretty soon, I'll be able to enjoy my balcony in peace. I can't wait to let out that big ahhhhhhhhhh.

 

But regardless of your views that you feel the need to express with condescension, I'll still invite you into the mess if you're ever in Key West. One rule though....no smoking. ;)

 

Actually, I have some real doubts that you will be able to "enjoy" your balcony now that something about it has changed. Your statement suggests that you are a person whose emotions are controlled by outside events rather than by your own mind. So it is likely the next time you step out on your balcony and find anything else not to your specific tastes you will once again be incapable of enjoyment.

 

I have always been able to enjoy my balcony time despite noisy neighbors, smelly neighbors, intense rain, overbearing sun or any number of other things that make the time less than perfect. That is what being on vacation is all about.

[Skallagrim]

My point was that it is more difficult to quit when exposed to the situation that you are trying to quit. Not much different than putting a huge chocolate fudge sundae in front of a dieter and forcing them to taste it. One trying to quit smoking during that delicate period of time and inhaling the 2nd hand smoke creates that craving for many if not most.

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

 

It was only a matter of time before NCL banned balcony smoking. I suspect it is only a matter of time before all cruise lines do so. They have clearly determined that such a move is in their long term MONETARY interest, and given the number of serious smokers versus the number of self-righteously indignant non-smokers (not all smokers insist on being accommodated and most non-smokers could not care less about people smoking in non-enclosed areas) it was inevitable who would "win" (although imposing your will on others rather than seeking effective compromise hardly seems like "winning" IMHO).

 

But NCL's new rule as it applies to e-cigarettes and vapor devices is a different story. Now it is impermissible to use an e-cig in your cabin. There is absolutely no health reason, not even a taste reason, for such a rule. And while it will probably be impossible for NCL to enforce this rule because e-cigs leave no odor, residue or tell-tale signs of use, that they would even make such a rule leads me to have lost pretty much all respect for NCL corporate decision makers.

 

The new NCL policy even prohibits e-cig use on balconies. This is not for protecting anyone's health (and, as others have said, if health were the key factor the casino would be smoke free too): e-cig use on a ship balcony can have 0 zero effect on anyone (except the user, of course).

 

So what is the reason behind this new NCL policy? In the new policy NCL says it is because some folks may mistake e-cigs for real cigs and think the policy is not being enforced ....

 

So rather than actually try and accommodate various factions in a reasonable and responsible way, NCL is saying that they woudl rather ban e-cig use than have to deal with irate self-righteous non-smokers who MISTAKENLY think someone is doing something they dislike, under circumstances where neither their health nor their delicate senses are capable of being truly offended.

 

NCL is essentially saying to smokers that they do not care that this new technology is the most promising smoking cessation method yet developed and, at least in non-enclosed areas, completely safe for the non-user. The mere fact that some cruisers may MISTAKENLY become upset upon seeing someone use an e-cig is enough to overcome the obvious and real health benefits of increasing the areas where e-cigs can be used, not to mention the sense of actual accommodation this would demonstrate towrd smokers and e-cig users.

 

NCL should just go totally non-smoking/non e-cig. At least then they could stop the pretense of caring about cruisers health or about accommodating all guests in a reasonable manner. This is all about dollars and the day has been reached when the self-righteous and indignant anti-smokers have more dollars than the smokers. So be it.

 

But when that same analysis leads to an obviously stupid and health impairing rule just so some vocal critics wont be confused, I have to rethink whether this is a cruise-line I want to be on.

 

Skallagrim

[mein18]

Even setting your reasoning aside for a moment there is another reason that this rule makes it difficult on the e-cig user. When you go to the smoking area for a cigarette you will usually smoke that cigarette until it is completed. With an e-cig (which does nothing when not being puffed) you will usually (I can't speak for everyone) pick it up only when the urge comes that you take "A" puff. So you would walk from one end of the ship to the other for one puff? They may have the look of a cigarette but they are used completely differently.

 

Good point and very true. Also it has to be noted that many e-cigs look nothing like a real cigarette.

 

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[Charles4515]

Really? Are y'all just not comprehending this? Your neighbor has no authority (on a cruise ship or in a condo) take make decisions on their own. Yes, the cruise line or association can make rules, not your neighbor. And your neighbor cannot retaliate against you for doing something on your balcony that he/she does not like but does not violate company/association rules.

 

But NCL has made a rule against smoking on balconies. Follow the rule, or pick another vacation option.

[Macadian]

Was pretty simple for me, no deep analysis necessary at all. We lucked out once in three consecutive NCL cruises re smokers on either side of us (balcony use). When we booked our cruises, we knew the risk but hoped for the best. We concluded that the odds were not good enough for us to book NCL again as we enjoy balcony rooms. We switched to ccl for our last cruise and have one other coming up next year. NCL will get our next booking in all likely hood as a consequence of this change. As an aside, our worst experience was HAl, which is why we have only sailed with them once. I would imagine as they are still holding out, for non smokers, a balcony room will be most unappealing?

Edited July 26, 2014 by Macadian